


Happily Ever After ....

by SilverTribble



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: end of life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:43:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29794176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverTribble/pseuds/SilverTribble
Summary: Akane Tsunemori and Shinya Kougami's family and friends gather for the scattering of his ashes. They share memories of Akane and Shinya's life post the Sibyl System. But is this the end?
Relationships: Kougami Shinya/Tsunemori Akane
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Happily Ever After ....

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic ever, which I wote for #shinkaneweek on Tumblr. At the end of PP3: First Inspector, I wondered what was going to happen to Kougami and Tsunemori. That scene between them could go many ways. I am also interested in true stories about people who fought for what they believed in and/or survived hideous atrocities, but afterwards went on to have a family and a normal life (whatever that is). What would that life look like for Kougami and Tsunemori? And how does one give them a happy ending? What is a happy ending? Well, for me that means them living a long life and then dying a natural death. I took advantage of Japan having the oldest population in the world and gave them a multi-generational family. But if either Kougami or Akane dies, the other will be left grieving, so then I remembered a story I had begun to write years ago. It came in handy here. I'm not going to give that bit away. 
> 
> Please let me know if I have made any major conical blunders. I'll do my best to fix them.

It was snowing lightly, the snowflakes carried away by the gentle breeze leaving only a scattering of white on the ground. The small group of people standing on top of the hill had their heads bowed, but not against the wind. They held each other as they wept. A tiny, frail-looking woman stepped forward out of the shelter of the others and stood at the edge where the hill dropped away. Snowflakes fell on her white hair and disappeared. She paid them no notice. Her attention was on the simple wooden box in her hands. Taking in a deep breath, she lifted the lid and took out the bag of ashes. “It is time.” she said and raised the open bag so the wind could catch them. More weeping, but not from her. She stood motionless watching the breeze carry away the physical remains of Shinya Kougami. Then, when she was certain that he was gone, she returned the bag to the box and closed the lid.

She stayed where she was, looking down over the valley now covered in snow, lost in thought. Her eyes moved over the small town to the hills and mountains that surrounded it and the memories that lay within.The people behind here began to drift away down the hill. It was no matter; she would see them later.

Slow, unsteady footsteps approached her. “Hello, Gino.”

“Akane,” He stopped beside her. “Do you mind if I ask why now? It has been over a year since he died.”

She turned and looked up at him. Old, white haired, wrinkled she might be, but her eyes were the same he had always known, large and honest. “Oh, I don’t know, … it just felt like it was time, Gino.” She took one more look out over the valley. “I’m getting cold and we, my old friend, are too old to be standing here. Let’s join the others.” 

*****  


“Mother, we were getting worried about you!”

Akane smiled, “Now why would you do something as silly as that, Yua? Come on, we are hungry, what is there to eat?”

Yua stared at her mother, a smile slowing breaking over her face. She was tall and slender, but her eyes were unmistakably Akane Tsunemori’s. “Right, food it is. There is a pot ready for noodles if …”

“Do you need to ask?” laughed Akane.

The kitchen was noisy, warm and very crowded. A large battered wooden table was covered with plates of food and pots of tea. People were eating and talking, sitting wherever there was a space. Three teenaged boys were leaning against a wall covered in photos. The plates they held were stacked high and they were eating ferociously. A tall middle-aged man stood up when he saw her. “Sit here, Mother,” he said as he perched himself on the kitchen counter next to his three sons.

“Ah, thank you, Ashai. Can we make room for Gino, too?” Akane sighed a little as she sat down.

“Here Gino-san, sit here.” Sara, Ashai’s wife, got up and moved to sit next to her husband.

“Mother, are you really okay?” asked Yua quietly. She held a bowl of ramen out to Akane, but she did not let go of it as her eyes searched her mother’s face.

Akane sighed softly.

“What? What’s the matter, mother?”

“Nothing, Yua. Just at times like this you are exactly like your father.”

Yua’s expression relaxed and looked sad. “I know, I’m sorry.”

Akane laughed, “So like him.” She put her hand on her daughter’s arm. “It makes me happy, you know? But if you really want to make me happy, can I please have that bowl of soup you're holding?”

From across the table, Yayoi smiled. “Some things never change. Akane Tsunemori and her noodles.”

“You forgot the lemonade candies,” laughed Kei as he passed her a plate of sandwiches. “Do you remember? Her desk was always covered in their wrappers.”

“So I liked a candy now and then, so what? Now let me eat.”

Akane settled into her chair and watched her family and friends as she ate. It had been a while since there had been a gathering like this. There weren’t so many of them now from the days when they had worked for the Sibyl System. Thinking back to the times when they had been colleagues, she knew that none of them could have imagined this reality, this present, this now. Life was so different, and she was so very thankful for that. And if there were fewer of her old friends, their absence was softened by all their children and grandchildren. And great-grandchildren. Her granddaughter, Hana, had just given birth to her first child. Even Gino had grandchildren of his own. Who would have ever thought any of that would come to pass?

 _“Ginoza a family man? Not me.”_ A deep chuckle in her ears. 

_“Hush now,”_ whispered Akane.

“Sorry, Akane, what did you say?”

She looked up at her son-in-law. “Oh, nothing Reo, just muttering to myself.”

The doorbell rang and was followed by a noisy commotion in the hall. The kitchen door slammed opened as a young boy ran through and headed for Gino. “Granpa! I’m here! Mama dropped me off coz I wanted to come _now_! Granny and the others are coming later, though. Oh! Sandwiches! Can I have some?”

Gino sighed, “Alex, manners, please.” But he passed the boy his plate.

The door opened again to admit Ashai. “Okay, folks, grab your plates and glasses and let’s move next door. It’s a bit too crowded in here. I’ve lit the fire in the living room, so let’s all get a bit more comfortable.”

Her son held out his hand and Akane’s heart did a little pitter patter of grief. While her daughter had much of Shinya’s personality, it was Ashai who had his father’s unruly hair and watchful eyes. He looked so like Shinya at times that it hurt her to look.

 _“Akane …”_ a whisper.

Akane patted her son’s arm. “You all go ahead. I want to have a chat with Yayoi. We’ll be in in a bit.”

“Tea, Yayoi?” she asked looking into a teapot.

“Please.”

Akane poured two cups of tea and set them and herself down next to her old friend.

“How are you, Akane?” Yayoi asked.

Akane sighed and sipped her tea. She did not pretend to misunderstand. “It is hard. Every day is hard. But I try to focus on what I do have - Yua and Ashai and their families, and you, and Gino, and Kei. I promised Shinya to live a good life after he went.”

“Shion made me promise something like that too” Yayoi nodded in understanding. “For a while there were times when I could hardly breathe from missing her.” Yayoi rested her head against Akane’s. “… when I didn’t want to breathe.”

Akane sighed, “Yes, that is how it is. I’ve had days like that. But … I talk to Shinya. All the time, in fact. It helps.”

“But it isn’t enough, is it?”

Akane stared at the cup in her hand. When she looked up, her eyes were full of tears. “No, it isn’t. How could it be, Yayoi? ... Shinya and Shion were our everything.”

_“Ohhh, Akane Tsunemori …. hush now.”_

_“You were and always will be …”_

Akane paused. Then, hugging Yayoi, she said, “Tell me how everyone is doing.” She listened as Yayoi talked about her and Shion’s children and grandchildren. Things were good. They were all happy, doing well, her grandson was graduating soon so she was planning a visit to Tokyo. Yayoi’s voice brightened at the telling and her grief, familiar from the years, dropped away. Shion had passed away more than ten years ago. A sudden death in her sleep, just like Shinya’s. It is so much harder to accept a sudden death, Akane thought, but I am also so grateful that he did not suffer.  


_“Not as much as I am, love ….” A low chuckle._

“Mother,” Yua poked her head round the door looking excited. “Takashi, Hana and the baby have arrived. Come and meet your great-grandchild.”  


“What? They’re here? But I thought Hana was only getting out of hospital today?” exclaimed Akane.

Yua beamed smugly. “They’ve come straight from the hospital. Reo just went and got them. Takashi and Hana wanted it to be a surprise. Come on, you have to meet little Akahana. She is just the cutest thing ever! Oh! I can’t believe I am a grandmother!”

Standing in the doorway to the living room, Akane watched as her granddaughter and her husband proudly showed off their first child.

_“Reminds me of when Yua was born. Remember, Shinya? Everyone came here to visit us …”_

_“I remember. I remember everything.”_

Reo looked up and saw her standing there. “Akane, come and meet Akahana.”

"Alex, let GG Akane sit down, please.” Gino said pushing his grandson off the sofa.

She allowed them to sit her down next to the fire and eagerly held her hands out for little Akahana. Hana and Takashi sat on the floor beside her unable to take their eyes from their daughter. Staring into the sleeping baby’s face, Akane felt the years roll back to that time when she had first held Yua. Where had all those years gone? She stroked Akahana’s face marveling at the sight of her wrinkled hands against the baby’s perfect skin.

She looked up and her eyes wandered over the people and the room around her. Shinya had insisted they moved here as soon as they knew she was expecting Yua. In some ways, it was like they had lived two lives, this one and the one under the Sibyl System. Here they had made a home and a family. The house was simple, but it was home. The large windows gave them a view of the valley, well, it did when it was not snowing. The few flakes of earlier had become a steady snowfall and she could see nothing but the outline of the dojo and the trees next to the house. Shinya had insisted on building the dojo himself … and fixing up the house. Though the outcomes were not always successful.

_“Hey! I thought I did a good job.”_

_“Well, the floorboards in the hall have always squeaked, and …”_

_“... I’m sorry about the floor.”_

_“Don’t be. It is part of what makes it home. Our home.”_

She relinquished Akahana to her parents and sighed contentedly at her family.

“Are you okay?” asked Gino sitting down next to her. She could see Masaoka in the lines of his face and his eyes.

“Yes. I’m fine. More than fine. I’m happy.” She turned to look at him with that serious, candid look he knew so well. “Gino, how did we get to be this lucky?”

He laughed, “You are asking me, Akane? If anyone is to take credit, then it is you.”

_“For once I agree with Ginoza …”_

The sound of a car pulling up to the house made Gino pause. “I think that is probably Yui and Chiyo. I’ll go let them in.” He pushed himself slowly and carefully to his feet.

Akane smiled at Gino’s back. Love had found him late. He had followed them here a few years after they had moved, as had Shion and Yayoi, and then Kei and Maiko, the quiet valley town becoming something of a refuge. No one was more surprised than Gino when he fell in love at fifty. Yui was sixteen years younger than him and had infused his life with a youth and happiness he had never known. He adored her and their children, who were now grown adults with their own children. She and Shinya had delighted in watching this new Gino, but there was still enough of the old Gino in him to occasionally spat with Shinya.

The living room was the largest room in the house. It had to be. There were books everywhere. On the shelves. On the tables. In piles on the surprisingly large number of sofas, pushed together haphazardly, that Shinya had collected over the years. At first, Akane had tried to dissuade him from buying almost every sofa he saw, but, especially in those early years, there were few times she saw him get excited and so she had relented and accepted that there was to be a never-ending flow of sofas in and out of their home.

_“Shall I remind you of all the other times you saw me get excited?”_

_“Quiet!”_

Gino came back pushing his wife in her wheelchair. A pretty, dark-eyed girl followed them in and waved cheerfully to Akane, “Hello Great-gran, how are you?”

“I’m fine, thank you, Chiyo. You go on and talk to the boys.” Akane smiled at the girl. At eighteen she was so adult at times. And she was fierce. Oh, my, was she fierce. Akane wondered if this is how Gino would have been if his life had been different back then.

_“Are you saying that Ginoza was fierce, Tsunemori?”_

_“I’m saying that he was damaged. We all were, Shinya.”_

_“Yes, Akane, we were, but not so much you, if I recall.”_

Chiyo looked up from where the boys were sorting out who was playing what. “GG, can we use the dojo later today? I haven’t had a good practice session since the weekend.” She loved martial arts and spent a lot of her free time in the dojo. In fact, all the grandchildren did, even Kei and Maiko’s when they came to stay. And everyone called her Great-Gran or GG. There was no standing on ceremony in the Kougami household.

Yui came over and kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry, Akane, I would have liked to have been there for the scattering of Shinya’s ashes, but well, you know, snow and all” she glanced down at her wheelchair. “Gino told me it was lovely and just right. I’m so glad the snow waited, but my, is it ever coming down now. I wasn’t sure if we were going to make it here or if we were going to have to call Reo for a tow up the hill. Hey, Sara, don’t let my grandkids get in the way.” This to Akane’s daughter-in-law as she came in bearing a tray of sodas for the younger ones.

Sara laughed at them from across the room where there was an animated discussion about whose turn it was with the holo game. “You know, Yui, I think you are right. Okay, kids, come on. Yes, you too, Alex. Don’t you have some practicing to do? Grab a drink and get out there. The heating is on, so the dojo should be warm enough by now.”

Chiyo bounced to her feet with a whoop. Any of the boys who might have preferred to stay inside playing the holo game were far too much in awe of her to say so. With a couple of reluctant backward glances at the game console, they all filed out after her.

As the front door closed behind the children, the adults heaved a sigh of relief. “Right, I think it is time for some more tea, don’t you?” said Yua. “Sara, care to give me a hand?”

Akane watched her daughter and her daughter-in-law as they left the room. One so tall and slender, like her father, and the other shorter and plump. They were so different in many ways, but Yua had adopted Sara as the sister she had never had from the moment Ashai had introduced them, and if he and Reo were not quite brothers, they were good friends. She looked over at where they were chatting with Yayoi. She saw her friend’s face light up and wondered what they were talking about. But no matter, it was enough to see her expression.

It was still early, thought Akane. Though the snow made it feel like late afternoon, it could only be just after lunch. They had eaten as soon as they got in from scattering Kougami’s ashes to recover from the chill of the snow and that of their loss. Food is eaten after a funeral to bring the living together and to remind the grieving that they are not alone.

_“Feeling a little philosophical?” …._

_“Oh, Shinya, I do miss you.”_ Akane sighed softly. 

_"Shush, it won’t be long now, love.”_

The tea and coffee arrived. Sara handed Akane a cup of coffee. She sat holding it close to her face, just breathing in the smell.

“Is it too hot for you?”

She smiled and patted the space next to her, “No dear, it is perfect. The smell just reminds me of him, you know?”

Sara sat down beside her, tears welling up. “I know. It is always the little things, isn’t it? Every time I see a pack of Spinels in a store, or smell coffee, or see a real book, I think of Shinya.”

“But the memories are good, aren’t they?” asked Akane stroking Sara’s hair.

“Yes, they are good. But I do miss him terribly. I mean, he wasn’t my father, but in all the _important_ ways, he was. As you are my second mother. If something was worrying me, he had a way of, of … making me laugh at whatever it was. I don’t mean that he was being unkind, he … it was his way of saying I was worrying for nothing. And knowing what you went through, well, it probably was silly. Oh, Akane, I don’t know how you bare it. I really don’t,” she sniffed and groped around for a tissue.

“At times, honestly, I don’t. He broke my heart several times before we were able to be together and now, after sixty years, he has once again,” admitted Akane.

_“….. I’m sorry.”_

_“You’ll make it up to me.”_

_“Oh, I will...,”_

“But then there are times when I feel as if he was still here. And the rest of the time, I have all of you,” she looked round the room. Gino caught her eye and was about to say something to her when Alex, who had snuck into the room, threw himself on top of his grandfather with a huge howl of glee. “Aren’t you supposed to be practicing your muay thai?” Gino demanded. He managed to keep his expression stern for all of ten seconds. Then he put Alex into a lock, gave an Evil Laugh and began tickling his grandson. Alex’s shrieks filled the room until a patient Yui said, “Gino, please, some of us are trying to talk here.”

Not only had Gino fallen in love with Yui, but in doing so he had learned to laugh. And laugh he did. Often for no reason. He once told Akane that there were times he could not help himself and had no desire to. He had lived half a life of loss and grief. Borne the humiliation of his father becoming a latent criminal when he was still only a child. Seen too many comrades die, and struggled to make sense of working within a cruel and, often, arbitrarily fickle system. He had come to terms with himself after his father’s death, but he had never looked for happiness. Yui had swept all that away. It had been love at first sight for both of them and happy, content, easy-going Yui had filled his life with … life. The Ginoza household was never quiet. There were constant comings and goings. Children and then grandchildren running wild with the dogs and cats and all sorts. People had very quickly discovered that if there was an injured animal that needed caring for, then Nobuchika Ginoza was their man. Seeing him now, rolling around the sofa with his grandson, both laughing and gasping for breath, Akane thought there was nothing left of the old enforcer. And that was a very good thing.

The front door slammed as it was opened too quickly and the hall was filled with running footsteps. Haru burst through the living room door closely followed by Chiyo with tears running down her face.

“Wh ….?” gasped Gino.

“GG! GG!” Haru gasped. “Tell me it isn’t true!”

“It is! I tell you!” Chiyo was laughing so hard she was almost doubled over.

Akane eyed her eldest grandson warily, “What is or isn’t true, Haru?”

By this time, her other two grandsons, Kenzo and Ryu, had joined their brother.

“That you shot Gramps in the back!”

“What?! exclaimed a startled Takashi and a rather more amused Sara.

“Chiyo says that when GG met Gramps, she shot him in the back.” Haru said to the assembled adults.

“Yes, well, I only used the paralyzer on him.” Akane shot back.

Chiyo was literally dancing. “I told you she did! I told you she did! GG rocks!”

“But why did you shoot him, GG? I mean, you loved him, right?” asked Ryu, always the serious one despite being the youngest.

“Well, it was my first day on the job. I had only just met him. I wasn’t in love with him yet,” protested Akane.

_“You weren’t? You wound me, Tsunemori.”_

_“Wretch!”_

“First day! She’d been on the job less than an hour,” Gino cut in.

“Please, tell us the story, GG, _pleeeease_ ,” begged Kenzo.

_“Huh! This should be interesting …”_

“Okay, but Gino and Yayoi were there too, so they’ll help as well,” Akane glanced at her two friends. She began to tell the story of when she had joined the MWPSB and how she had met Kougami and the rest of the team that rainy night. If Gino was worried that she would paint him in a bad light, as certainly his behavior back then warranted, he did not show it, but, of course, she didn’t. Between the three of them, they explained how the dominators worked and what inspectors and enforcers did.

“So you had no control over what the dominator would do?” asked Chiyo appalled.

“Yes and no. The dominator would register the perp’s crime coefficient and the Sibyl System would decide whether to use the paralyzer mode or the lethal decomposer mode. However, it was up to you to pull the actual trigger. So in that respect, you did have some say,” explained Gino.

“Unless you were an enforcer,” interjected Yayoi. “In which case, you were under orders from the inspectors. Honestly, we didn’t really think about it.”

“It’s not like that now, is it, Cousin Takashi?” asked Ryu.

Takashi was a detective for the local police force. He laughed, “It most certainly isn’t. Now we carry guns, and we’re trained how to make decisions.”

“Was Gramps mad at you for shooting him?” asked Chiyo?

“Not the first two times,” said Yayoi delighting in the shocked expressions on their faces.

“You shot Dad twice, mum? Wait, more than twice?” Ashai glanced at Yayoi who nodded and held up three fingers.

“Damn! GG, I knew you were badass, but _three_ times?” blurted out Kenzo. Then, “Sorry, mum! I know, language.”

_“Tell them. They need to know.”_

_“But they are still so young. Alex is only eight and Ryu twelve.”_

_“Kagari was five when he was put into an isolation center.”_

“The second time she shot Shinya was to save his life,” said Gino stepping in. His expression had darkened with the memory. He glanced over at Alex, but he seemed to be engrossed in the holo game. “We were chasing a very dangerous man …”

“Makishima,” breathed Yayoi and Akane together, their eyes meeting.

“… he had caused many deaths. We had caught him once and he had managed to escape. Your grandfather was obs … was desperate to catch him. Makishima had caused the murder of a friend of his, but he wasn’t thinking straight. Because of that, he had been taken off the case by the Chief.”

By now everyone had drawn closer to listen. Chiyo and the three boys were suddenly aware that this was a serious talk. They were being treated as adults and they became very still.

“I take it you all know what the Sibyl System was?” asked Akane.

“Wasn’t it a sort of A.I. collective using human brains as a hive-mind,” asked Kenzo.

“That is a pretty good description,” nodded Gino. “Well, the…, for want of a better expression, the human face of the Sibyl System was Chief Kasei. You need to understand that at the time we did not know she was a cyborg.”

“And we did not know about the hive-mind, either,” added Kei.

“True,” said Gino. “I tried to swap Shinya into a different unit knowing that he’d give them the slip and find Makishima. But the Chief caught us,” he nodded at Akane, “in the act and ordered me to shoot Shinya. With his crime coefficient, the dominator should have just gone into paralyzer mode, but the Chief did something to mine and it set to lethal. But your grandmother shot Shinya in the leg with her dominator first. Because the Sibyl System hadn’t tampered with hers, it _was_ set to paralyzer. That was one of the worst moments of my life.” Gino looked drained and sat back. Chiyo moved to sit next to him and Yui reached out to hold his hand.

_“Not to mention mine. You saved me …”_

Reo leaned forward to address Chiyo and the boys, “You need to know this stuff. You won’t learn everything today. But it is important that you understand that many people were manipulated into doing things they would never have chosen to do.”

“So you really did save Gramps’ life? But what happened afterwards. Why didn’t the System try to kill him later?” asked Haru.

Akane shifted in her chair. She glanced at Gino and he nodded. “Well, we don’t know for certain, but it seems like that the brain that was in the Chief Kasei cyborg had made that decision by itself. Normally, the System took collective decisions, but when the Chief was disconnected from the hive-mind or Collective, it could make its own decisions. I can only guess that the Collective countermanded the order to kill Shinya once the Chief had reconnected to it. Anyway, he managed to escape as soon as he came to with the help of Masaoka and Shion.” She smiled gently at Yayoi.

“Masaoka? Wasn’t he your father, Granddad?” asked Chiyo.

Gino was quiet so Akane continued, “Yes, he was. He was one of our enforcers. Your grandfather and I were the inspectors and Tomomi Masaoka, Shinya, Yayoi and Shusei Kagari were our enforcers. Shion was the department’s analyst. I’m not going to tell you how we caught up to Makishima. It’s a long story, but it was thanks to Shinya. While trying to capture him, Gino’s father was killed and Gino was badly injured. That left the chase to Shinya and me as Yayoi was holding down a control center. Then I was hurt, not badly, but enough to stun me, so Shinya went after Makishima alone.”

Everyone was quiet. Then Hana asked, “And Gramps killed him?”

“Yes, Shinya killed Makishima. If he hadn’t, I believe Makishima would have killed him. Anyway, because he was already a latent criminal that would have put his crime coefficient over the top and he’d have been a target for ….” Akane trailed off. Even now the thought of how close Shinya had come to death left her shaken.

“You mean, the Sibyl System would have killed him for killing a mass murderer?” Kenzo’s eyes were wide.

“Yes, it would have. So he had to run. Fortunately, there was just enough confusion surrounding what had happened that he had time to make his escape. I didn’t even know he’d got away until he called me some weeks later. But I didn’t see him again for more than three years.” Akane trailed off as memories of that time flooded back.

Seeing Akane falter, Yayoi stepped in. “Yes, and when they did meet, she very nearly shot him again.” The mood in the room lightened and there were several giggles and snorts of laughter.

“But if Gramps had had to flee Japan, how … er .. how did he get back?” asked Ryu trying to keep track of events.

Reo answered. “He didn’t. Not then. It was at this time that the Sibyl System started experimenting with expanding overseas. Remember, at that time many countries in the world were still in a state of collapse or political chaos. Especially those nearest to Japan. Europe and Africa had already begun to pull themselves out to the mess of the last hundred years, but Asia and the Americas were still behind. Though from what we have managed to discover, the Sibyl System had realized that soon … at least soon in the terms of history, the rest of Asia would stabilize. The security of the Sibyl System depended on the instability of the rest of the world. True, a stable Europe and Africa would not have had an immediate impact on it, but at some point it was inevitable that Asia would pull itself together, at which point, Japan would have felt threatened. Or at least the Sibyl System would have. So, it decided to try outsourcing itself to those regimes that were still unstable, but that with a little help could be stabilized in a form suiting the Sibyl System. In some ways, it is in what your grandparents did then that we can see the beginning of the end of the System.”

Akane gasped, “Reo! Don’t talk rubbish. And you are making Shinya and me out to be like heroes or something.”

_“I knew there was a reason I liked our son-in-law.”_

_“Hush! You no more want to be thought a hero than I do.”_

Reo smiled fondly at his mother-in-law. “Akane, I have studied the downfall of the Sibyl System my entire professional life. What you and Shinya did in SEAUn, and what _you_ specifically did in the Shambala Float created a tiny fissure. I’m not saying that the two of you conspired to bring the System down then. I am saying that your actions there had consequences which led to some changes in the System. And those in turn made it possible for further changes. Systems don’t suddenly collapse out of nowhere. Even when it appears that way, there are always tiny breaks first.”

“Like, like with the wall in 20th century Germany?” asked Ryu.

Reo beamed at his nephew. “Exactly like that.”

“So how did Shinya get back to Japan?” asked Takashi.

“Things were changing, Japan was slowly opening up to the outside world again, and that meant we had all sorts of issues. The head of the Suppressing Action Department or SAD was on a mission in Sino-Tibet and ended up working with Shinya. Frederica had enough pull that she was able to employ him, but so long as he only worked international cases,” explained Gino.

“So, did you shoot Gramps again when you met up?” asked Haru.

Akane laughed, “Haru! Is that all you care about? No, I did not shoot him then. That was later.

_“I’ve often wondered why you didn’t,”_ low chuckle. 

_“You hadn’t committed a crime.”_

_“Didn’t stop you before.”_

_“Oh!”_

Gino continued, “By this time, I was also working for the SAD. How many of you have heard of Bifrost. Kenzo and Ryu shook their heads. Well, that is a long and complicated story, which I will tell you one day soon. But, in order to solve that case, Akane here, got herself arrested and put in prison. And that is about the time that Kei and his partner, Arata, came on the scene. The end of Bifrost meant that Shizuka Homura became head of the MWPSB and things really began to change after that.”

“GG you were in prison?” gasped Chiyo? “Was that part of your plan?”

Akane looked down at her hands. Had it been part of the plan? It was so long ago, and hindsight made it all seem so clear but, “No, it wasn’t exactly a plan. At that time, we were all just trying to do what we thought was possible, going from one stepping-stone to the next. It is not as if we had a specific end goal in sight.”

Kei looked at her thoughtfully, “Really, Akane? You may not have had a clear strategy, but Arata always said that you were pushing things in a definite direction.”

“I know that this is all very important and all that, but what I really want to know is when did you and Gramps actually get together?” Hana asked blushing mightily.

Akane laughed, “Well, I suppose you could say that it started when I got out of prison. He’d been sent to collect me as I was now an enforcer. I told him I was hungry and to take me somewhere to eat. He bought me noodles.”

“He was sent to collect you? Like _hell_ he was! In the middle of a debriefing he stood up and announced that he was going to get you and left. Frederica had to go and clear it with Mika, who, I might add, was not happy about it.” Gino roared with laughed at the memory. “I can’t believe you didn’t know that.”

_“Ohhh, Shinya …”_

“Talking of noodles,” said Sara eyeing her three sons, “Is anyone hungry? I don’t want to break up the story, but I can go make something, if anyone wants.”

To a chorus of “Me! Sandwiches! Noodles!” there was a sudden exodus in the direction of the kitchen.

“Teenagers! Always hungry.” smiled Ashai taking the now empty seat next to Akane. “I swear, Mother, those three boys eat enough for an entire week in an afternoon.”

“You were exactly the same,” Akane laughed. “It was like having a bottomless pit with legs and a mouth.”

Yua came over and sat on the arm of the sofa. “Mother, do you remember the time Dad gave Ashai a whole roast chicken to see if he could eat in one go?”

“And I did!” boasted Ashai. “And you were mad at Dad so he went and bought another one.”

“I was not angry with him!” protested Akane weakly.

_“Liar!”_

_“Ha!”_

“You were, too. You called him Shinya Kougami and you only did that when you were mad at him, but when you called him Kougami, that was different altogether.” laughed Ashai, winking at this sister. “Right, Yua?”

“And, he would call you Inspector when he was mad at you, but Tsunemori when he was teasing you. You probably didn’t think we realized but we did.”

“But he would always relent and then he’d just say, ‘Yes, ma’am’. It took me years to work out what he meant by that. In fact, it was only when I was reading one of those old children’s books to Hana that I got it.” Yua turned to her daughter. “You know the one, there was princess and a pirate and instead of saying ‘I love you’, he would say ‘As you wish’!” I suddenly realized that was what Dad had been saying to you all those years. Oh, Mother, please don’t cry. I thought it would make you happy to hear that.”

Yua and Ashai sat down on either side of their mother and hugged her. “It’s okay, Yua, Ashai. I had no idea we had a secret code, or that you’d cracked it. We were so very happy, you know. And he loved you two so much.” Akane rested her head on her daughter’s shoulder and let her tears fall. Tears on a day like this were no bad thing.

Kenzo came back into the living room. “Food’s ready. Come and get it while it is hot.” And he disappeared back in the direction of the kitchen with his father in tow. Gino shook Alex awake and gradually the room emptied. Yua stayed with her arms around her mother. “Come on, it will do you good to have something hot.”

“In a little while, love. I would like to sit here by myself for a few minutes. That talk brought back so many memories and I want to take a little time to be with them.” Akane leant back against the sofa, wiped her eyes and smiled at Yua as she stood up.

“Okay, Mother,” Yua kissed her cheek. “See you in a few minutes.”

Akane took a deep breath and savored the sudden quiet around her. She could hear her family talking and laughing in the kitchen, but the living room was silent. The snow was muffling any sound of the wind and only the crackling of the fire kept her company. As much as she missed Shinya, ached for him, the large extended muddle of families that came and went through this house every day brought her so much happiness. Happiness that sixty years ago she and Shinya had never dared hope that they would have even for a day. Happiness for the future that their children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren would live free from the oppression of an uncaring and despotic system. The fire was warm and room so peaceful. Surely she could just have a few minutes more.

  
***

_“Akane! Akane! Wake up! It’s time.”_

She woke slowly, struggling to shake off the pull of the dream she had been having. _“Oh, Shinya, just a few more minutes, please,”_ she groaned.

_“Akane! Wake up! Now, Tsunemori!”_

At that she did wake up. There he was, smiling down at her, leaning against the wall by the fire as if they had all the time in the world. And didn’t they? He was wearing his old gray jacket and, oh, her heart fluttered, he looked good.

 _“Shinya,”_ she breathed.

 _“Akane. … I’m here to get you.”_ He paused and looked at his feet. _“Sorry.”_

_“Still apologizing after all this time, love?”_

He shrugged.

Akane Tsunemori stood up. She glanced back at her body resting so peacefully on the sofa. Then she tilted her head back so she could look up at her husband. The smile in his eyes made her heart dance just as it had 60 years ago. She returned his smile. _“Kougami, take me home.”_

He took her hand gently, _“Yes, ma’am.”_


End file.
